NYPD: Homicides are down in the first half of 2019

NEW YORK (AP) - New York City is on pace for its lowest homicide total in decades after ending the first half of the year with 21 fewer killings than in the same span in 2018.

Police statistics show 135 homicides through June 30, down from 156 in the same span last year.

Shootings tend to spike during the summer months but as of right now the city is on track to have 272 killings.

That would be the lowest number since 1951.

All other major crime categories the NYPD tracks also showed decreases compared with the first six months of 2018.

The city's recent homicide totals are a fraction of what they were in 1990. That year, there were more than 2,200 killings.